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Hair | Tips | combing

Always be extremely gentle when handling your hair

Whenever you wash, style, or touch your hair, always be extremely gentle.  Tugging, pulling, combing, brushing, or washing the hair roughly or rigorously can cause split-ends as well as damage to the scalp, so treat your hair as though it were fine antique lace.  If your scalp feels any kind of discomfort or tension, you are probably causing some kind of damage to your hair follicles.  The best thing that you can do for your hair is to practice using a more patient, soft, and sensitive touch every day.

Avoid brushing your hair

The bristles of a brush can damage the scalp and tear the hair cuticles, especially if used on kinky curly hair, which is extremely fine and fragile.  Although, if done correctly, brushing can help stimulate hair growth by strengthening the follicles and spreading natural oils, such as sebum, throughout the hair; it is much safer to gently use a comb or your fingers to stimulate the scalp.  Since you won't be spreading oils with a brush, you can simply apply an oil treatment directly to the ends.  If you feel that you must brush, only use one with natural boar bristles and never brush wet hair.

For a healthy style, try a braid-out

A braid-out is a great way to add waves to straight hair or stretch and lengthen curly hair without using a heated styling tool, such as a curling iron or crimper.  A braid-out is a healthful style choice for your hair, and it is easy to do.  First, wash and condition your hair.  Second, part your hair into sections (four sections will usually suffice, but you may want more depending on your preference--the smaller the braid, the tighter the wave pattern will be).  Third, gently comb each section and then braid it.  If your hair is prone to frizz, you may want to add a small amount of styling gel to each section before braiding.  Remember not to braid your hair too tightly--you do not want to have any tension near the scalp.  For the safest and healthiest option, let your hair air-dry (time will vary depending on climate and hair texture, but thick hair usually takes at least 12 hours).  If you don't have time to let your hair air dry, you can use a blow-dryer with a diffuser or a hood dryer (time will vary depending on texture, but thick hair usually takes at least 60 to 90 minutes).  After your hair is completely dry, unbraid each section and let the styling fun begin.  Results will vary depending on texture, but you should have some luscious waves to work with--the possibilities are endless.

How to safely remove tangles from hair

If you encounter a tangle or matted area while combing your hair, stop combing, and immediately apply a creamy conditioner to the area.  Finger massage the conditioner directly into the tangle and gently and slowly separate the hairs until the tangle is removed.  Apply more conditioner if needed for stubborn knots.  Once you can run your fingers smoothly through your hair, you can resume combing.

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